Research

Our Gastrointestinal Cancer disease group is advancing translational research to bring about new treatments, improve the effectiveness of current treatments, and prevent or lessen treatment side effects.

Preclinical & Translational Research

Our physician scientists bring together clinical, translational and basic research to identify mechanisms of sensitivity, resistance, and toxicity to anti-cancer therapies.

Gerald Blobe, MD, PhD, is the lead physician-scientist engaged in preclinical research.

Michael Morse and Gayathri Devi, PhD, are leading research into therapies to kill cancer cells by enhancing the body’s immune response.

The Hanks Lab, led by Brent Hanks, MD, PhD, works to develop novel strategies to enhance the efficacy of checkpoint inhibitor and vaccine immunotherapy while also developing predictive biomarkers to better guide the management of cancer patients with immunotherapeutic agents. The lab's work in gastrointestinal cancers is currently focused on understanding the mechanisms behind immune tolerance and immunotherapy resistance.

The Hsu Lab, led by David Hsu, MD, PhD, is working on the identification, characterization and validation of novel drug targets for colorectal cancer and other GI cancers and engaged in defining the role of epigenetic profiling of colorectal cancer in drug resistance and the immune system.

The Phase 1 Biomarker Laboratory, directed by Andrew Nixon, PhD, has been appointed as a Molecular Reference Laboratory for the Alliance oncology cooperative group, a national clinical trial research group sponsored by the National Cancer Institute.

Clinical & Correlative Research

We have an experienced team made up of physician-scientists, nurses, and in-patient staff as well as specialists engaged in protocol development and clinical trial registration.

We collaborate in health services research with Duke University’s Margolis Center for Health Policy, Duke Forge (Health Data Science Center), Fuqua School of Business, and the Sanford School of Public Policy.

Clinical Trials

We have many gastrointestinal cancer trials open, including for colorectal cancer and cancers of the stomach, esophagus and other digestive organs.

Duke Cancer Center North Durham

Duke Surgical Oncology at North Duke Street

Duke Adult Bone Marrow Transplant Clinic

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Ways To Give

Duke Cancer Institute constellates the world-class resources of Duke University, Duke Health and the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center into a collaborative powerhouse. We are poised to drive a paradigm shift in the way long-established cancer centers and institutes have been waging this war.